Morrison: Tough trio could define season

And midfielder urges team-mates to dwell on positives in search for confidence

JAMES Morrison says tomorrow’s trip to Everton (ko 7.45pm) will kick-off a trio of games against Albion’s closest rivals he believes could define their season.

The eighth-placed Baggies are set to face three of the four teams directly above them in the table with a home clash against Tottenham on Sunday (ko 1.30pm) and a visit to Liverpool eight days later to follow.

And, after taking seven points from nine in the corresponding set of fixtures at the start of the campaign, the Hawthorns midfielder is hoping to close the gap, with the Toffees four points better off, Spurs seven points ahead and the Reds only above Albion on goal difference after 23 games.

“Everyone said at the start of the season that we wouldn’t get anything out of the opening three games against these same teams and we did,” said Morrison.

“We can take a lot of confidence from those games.

“We just need to get back into the state of mind we were in at the start of the season.

“Whether it’s fatigue or something else we’ve been struggling with, we need to try and get back there.

“We’ve had the weekend off to recharge the batteries ahead of the games against Everton and Tottenham and we shouldn’t have any fear going into those games.

“We just need to get some confidence back into our play.

“We’ve now got three games coming up against teams that are in and around us that can define our season.”

Steve Clarke’s men will be looking for their first win in five top-flight games but Morrison has urged his team-mates to focus on what is ahead and build on what he considers to be a position of strength.

“Just imagine where we would be if we’d picked up a few more points,” added Morrison.

“We’re still eighth so let’s look at that as a positive.

“People forget where we’ve been and where we’ve come from.

“Expectations change a lot when you’re doing well.

“If we just look at it that way – we’re eighth, while in recent years we’ve been struggling down the bottom at this stage.

“We need to keep going and get back to the way we’ve been - and just try and enjoy it.”